Uploading attachment to shared location and replacing with a link

ABSTRACT

The size of attachments to an electronic message are examined before the message is sent to determine if the attachments exceed a size threshold. When the size of the attachments exceed the threshold, one or more of the attachments are uploaded to a shared location that is accessible to the recipients of the message. A link replaces each attachment that was uploaded to the shared location. Permissions are automatically set at the shared location such that each of the recipients of the message are able to access the uploaded attachment.

BACKGROUND

Users routinely attempt to send large attachments using electronicmessages. Many message gateways limit the size of an attachment that maybe delivered/received. The message including the attachments is notdelivered when the size of an attachment or collection of attachmentsexceeds these limits. The sender of the message containing theattachment may or may not be notified that the message was notdelivered.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subjectmatter.

The size of attachments to an electronic message are examined before themessage is sent to determine if the attachments exceed a size threshold.When the size of the attachments exceed the threshold, one or more ofthe attachments are uploaded to a shared location that is accessible tothe recipients of the message. A link replaces each attachment that wasuploaded to the shared location. Permissions are automatically set atthe shared location such that each of the recipients of the message areable to access the uploaded attachment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary computing environment;

FIG. 2 shows a system for uploading attachments that exceed a thresholdto a shared location and replacing the uploaded attachment with a linkwithin the message;

FIG. 3 shows a display of an electronic message including an attachment;

FIG. 4 shows a display of an electronic message including a link to anattachment that has been uploaded to a shared location;

FIG. 5 shows a display of an electronic message within a Web browserincluding a link to content;

FIG. 6 illustrates a process for uploading attachments that exceed athreshold to a shared location; and

FIG. 7 shows a process for automatically downloading content that isassociated with a received message that includes a link to an uploadedattachment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals represent likeelements, various embodiment will be described. In particular, FIG. 1and the corresponding discussion are intended to provide a brief,general description of a suitable computing environment in whichembodiments may be implemented.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Other computer systemconfigurations may also be used, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Distributed computing environments may also be used where tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules may be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an illustrative computer environment for acomputer 100 utilized in the various embodiments will be described. Thecomputer environment shown in FIG. 1 includes computing devices thateach may be configured as a mobile computing device (e.g. phone, tablet,net book, laptop), server, a desktop, or some other type of computingdevice and includes a central processing unit 5 (“CPU”), a system memory7, including a random access memory 9 (“RAM”) and a read-only memory(“ROM”) 10, and a system bus 12 that couples the memory to the centralprocessing unit (“CPU”) 5.

A basic input/output system containing the basic routines that help totransfer information between elements within the computer, such asduring startup, is stored in the ROM 10. The computer 100 furtherincludes a mass storage device 14 for storing an operating system 16,messaging application(s) 24, Web Browser 25, and attachment manager 26which will be described in greater detail below.

The mass storage device 14 is connected to the CPU 5 through a massstorage controller (not shown) connected to the bus 12. The mass storagedevice 14 and its associated computer-readable media providenon-volatile storage for the computer 100. Although the description ofcomputer-readable media contained herein refers to a mass storagedevice, such as a hard disk or CD-ROM drive, the computer-readable mediacan be any available media that can be accessed by the computer 100.

By way of example, and not limitation, computer-readable media maycomprise computer storage media and communication media. Computerstorage media includes volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storageof information such as computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data. Computer storage media includes, but isnot limited to, RAM, ROM, Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(“EPROM”), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory(“EEPROM”), flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM,digital versatile disks (“DVD”), or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the computer 100.

Computer 100 operates in a networked environment using logicalconnections to remote computers through a network 18, such as theInternet. The computer 100 may connect to the network 18 through anetwork interface unit 20 connected to the bus 12. The networkconnection may be wireless and/or wired. The network interface unit 20may also be utilized to connect to other types of networks and remotecomputer systems. The computer 100 may also include an input/outputcontroller 22 for receiving and processing input from a number of otherdevices, including a keyboard, mouse, or electronic stylus (not shown inFIG. 1). Similarly, an input/output controller 22 may provideinput/output to a display screen 23, a printer, or other type of outputdevice.

As mentioned briefly above, a number of program modules and data filesmay be stored in the mass storage device 14 and RAM 9 of the computer100, including an operating system 16 suitable for controlling theoperation of a computer, such as the WINDOWS PHONE 7®, WINDOWS 7®, orWINDOWS SERVER® operating system from MICROSOFT CORPORATION of Redmond,Wash. The mass storage device 14 and RAM 9 may also store one or moreprogram modules. In particular, the mass storage device 14 and the RAM 9may store one or more application programs, including one or moremessaging application(s) 24 and Web browser 25.

A user interface 15 is used by a user to interact with applications anddocuments. Messaging application(s) 24 may be one or more differentmessaging applications. For example, computer 100 may include an emailapplication, an Instant Messaging (IM) application, an SMS, MMSapplication, a real-time information network (e.g. Twitter® interface),a social networking application, and the like. According to anembodiment, messaging application 24 is an email application, such asMICROSOFT OUTLOOK®. The messaging application(s) may be client basedand/or web based. For example, a network based message service 17 may beused, such as: MICROSOFT WINDOWS LIVE or some other network based emailand messaging service.

Network share 27 is configured to store content (e.g. documents,spreadsheet, Web content, and the like) that are accessible to one ormore users through IP network 18. For example, network share 27 maystore content that is accessible by users located at one or morelocations.

Attachment manager 26 is configured to upload attachments that exceed asize threshold and replace the attachment with a link in the message.The term “link” refers to an address that represents a location ofcontent. For example, a link may be in the form of a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL) that specifies a network location of where theattachment/content is stored. Clicking the link generally retrieves thecontent that is pointed to by the link. Attachment manager 26 may belocated externally from an application, e.g. messaging application 24,as shown or may be a part of an application. Further, all/some of thefunctionality provided by attachment manager 26 may be locatedinternally/externally from a messaging application.

According to an embodiment, attachment manager 26 is configured topresent linked content and/or attachments in an attachment area of anelectronic message for easier access than having to locate the linkwithin the body of the message. Attachment manager 26 automaticallydetermines the size of attachments to an electronic message before themessage is sent. When the size of the attachments exceed thepredetermined threshold, one or more of the attachments are uploaded toa shared location that is accessible to the recipients of the message. Alink replaces each attachment within the message that was uploaded tothe shared location. Attachment manager 26 automatically sets thepermissions of the attachment(s) at the shared location such that eachof the recipients of the message are able to access the uploadedattachment(s). The attachments may be many different types of content,such as word processing documents, spreadsheets, slides, website contentand the like. When the message is delivered to the recipient, theattachment that is addressed by the link may be automatically downloadedand included with the display of the link or in place of the link withinthe message. More details regarding the attachment manager are disclosedbelow.

FIG. 2 shows a system for uploading attachments that exceed a thresholdto a shared location and replacing the uploaded attachment with a linkwithin the message. As illustrated, system 200 includes computing device1 (210), computing device 2 (220), network share(s) 230 and messagingservice 240.

The computing devices may be any type of computing device that isconfigured to perform the operations relating to sending and receivingelectronic messages that include attachments and links to content. Forexample, some of the computing devices may be: mobile computing devices(e.g. cellular phones, tablets, smart phones, laptops, and the like);desktop computing devices and servers. Some computing devices may bearranged to provide an online service (e.g. messaging service 240 thatis configured for sending and receiving electronic messages), some maybe arranged as data shares, some may be arranged in local networks, somemay be arranged in networks accessible through the Internet, and thelike.

The computing devices are coupled through network 18. Network 18 may bemany different types of networks. For example, network 18 may be an IPnetwork, a carrier network for cellular communications, and the like.Generally, network 18 is used to transmit data between computingdevices, such as computing device 1, computing device 2, network share230 and messaging service 240.

Computing device 1 includes messaging application 212 and user interface216. As illustrated, computing device 1 is used by a user to interactwith electronic messages, content in a network share (e.g. attachment232) and the like.

User interface (UI) 216 is used to interact with an application andcontent, such as messaging application 212 and attachment(s) 232. One ormore user interfaces of one or more types may be used to interact withthe content. For example, UI 216 may include the use of a context menu,a menu within a menu bar, a menu item selected from a ribbon userinterface, a graphical menu, and the like. Generally, UI 216 isconfigured such that a user may easily interact with content andelectronic messages. For example, a user may simply select an optionwithin UI 216 to automatically upload and permission an attachment thatexceeds a predetermined size to a shared location. UI 216 may also beused to set permissions for the attachment at the shared location and toaccess the attachment and/or link to the attachment.

Upon receipt of the message, the recipient of the message may access theuploaded attachment using the link within the received message.According to an embodiment, the attachment is downloaded to therecipient's device automatically. The link to the attachment may/may notbe removed from the message when the attachment is downloaded. Forexample, upon receipt of the message including the link to theattachment, attachment manager 26 may automatically download theattachment, remove the link from the message and attach the downloadedattachment to the message. In this way, the recipient receives themessage as if the attachment was delivered with the message.

Messaging application 212 may be a client based application, such as anemail application, an Instant Messaging Application, a social mediaapplication, and the like. Generally, messaging application 212 is usedto send and receive electronic messages of one or more types. A networkbased messaging service 240 may be used in addition to messagingapplication 212 or instead of one or more of the different messagingapplications. For example, a web interface may be used to accessmessaging service 240.

Messaging service 240 may be used to process electronic messages betweenone or more computing devices, such as computing device 1 and computingdevice 2. Messaging service 240 may be configured to process differentmessage types, such as SMS, MMS, email, messages for social networks andthe like. Messaging service 240 may be configured with the functionalityof attachment manager 26 and one or more message types may be used tocommunicate the electronic messages including links to the uploadedattachment(s).

Computing device 2 includes one or more applications, such as a webbrowser (222) that may be configured to access a messaging service, suchas a web based email service and to interact with content. For example,a web browser may be used to access messaging service 240 and create anelectronic message including one or more attachments.

One or more network shares (e.g. Network share 230) may be used to storecontent. The content may be any type of content that is linked/attachedwithin a message, such as word processing documents, spreadsheets,slides, website content and the like Network share 230 is accessible bythe computing devices that interact with the content. The network sharemay be associated with an online service that supports onlineaccess/interaction with content. The network share(s) may be associatedwith one or more online services. For example, different network sharesmay be associated with different types of attachments (e.g. a networkshare for a video service, picture service, document service, and thelike.)

Attachment manager 26 is configured to detect any attachments to anelectronic message and determine when one or more of the attachments isto be uploaded to a network share based on a size of the attachments.The attachments may be to any type of content, such as word processingdocuments, spreadsheets, slides, pictures, videos, website content andthe like. Attachment manager 26 determines if one or more or acombination of attachments exceed a predetermined size threshold.According to an embodiment, the predetermined size threshold is based ona size restriction of a message gateway that sets a maximum sizelimitation for an electronic message (e.g. 1 MB, 5 MB, 10 MB . . . ).The predetermined size threshold may be configured by an authorized user(e.g. system administrator). When one or more of the attachments exceedthe threshold, attachment manager 26 is configured to upload one or moreof the attachments. For example, all/portion of the attachments may beuploaded to the shared location and removed from the message such thatthe size of the message when it is sent is below the threshold. When oneattachment or a combination of the attachments exceed the threshold,each attachment to the message is uploaded to the shared location. Eachattachment that is uploaded is replaced with a link to the attachment atthe shared location within the message. According to an embodiment, thelink(s) are placed within an attachment area of the electronic messagesuch that when a user receives the message the links to the uploadedattachments are easily locatable. A single link may also be used toaddress all of the attachments that were uploaded to the shared location(e.g. the link may point to a folder containing the uploadedattachments). The attachments may be uploaded before the message is sentand/or after the message is sent. According to an embodiment, theattachments are uploaded before a message is sent such that any errorsin uploading the attachment to the shared location may be presented tothe sender of the electronic message before the message is sent.

According to an embodiment, any attachments that were uploaded due tothe size exceeding the threshold are automatically downloaded andincluded within the attachment area before the user receiving themessage views the message. For example, upon receipt of the message, thelinked attachment may be automatically downloaded and included with themessage. All/some of the linked content may be automatically downloaded.The links to the attachments may/may not be removed from the messageafter the attachments are downloaded.

FIGS. 3-5 show exemplary electronic messages where an attachment isuploaded to a shared location and replaced with a link within themessage. FIGS. 3-5 are for exemplary purpose and are not intended to belimiting.

FIG. 3 shows a display of an electronic message including an attachment.As illustrated, message 300 comprises a To: field, a Cc: field, aSubject field:, an Attached field that includes attachment 310; body ofthe message 314 and upload option 320. More or fewer fields may beincluded with the electronic message.

The electronic message may be accessed a number of ways. For example, aweb browser may access an electronic mail service, an email applicationon a computing device may be configured to send/receive emails from oneor more different services, and the like.

When electronic message is created, attachment 310 is included with themessage. The attachments may be to any type of content, such as wordprocessing documents, spreadsheets, slides, websites and the like.Generally, the attachment may be to any type of content that isaccessible by a computing device.

When a size of an attachment (or a combination of attachments) exceeds apredetermined size, message 315 may be presented to inform the senderthat the size of the attachments are too large to send. Other messagesmay be displayed to the user indicating that the size of the attachmentis too large to send. According to an embodiment, upload option 320 ispresented that allows a user to select the upload option before theattachment is uploaded to a shared location. The attachment may beautomatically uploaded to a shared location without providing uploadoption 320. For example, a user may have previously configured anautomatic upload option to upload any attachments without userconfirmation to a shared location. In this scenario, a message, such asmessage 330, may be provided along with change option 335 that providesa user with options relating to the attachment (e.g. change permissionsfor the attachment, move the attachment to a different shared location,remove the attachment from the shared location, and the like.)

FIG. 4 shows a display of an electronic message including a link to anattachment that has been uploaded to a shared location. As illustrated,message 400 comprises a To: field, a Cc: field, a Subject field:, anAttached field that includes link to attachment 410; body of the message314 and change option 320. More or fewer fields may be included with theelectronic message.

When one or more of the attachments are uploaded to a shared location,change option 430 may be used to make changes relating to theattachment. For example, a user may select change option to change thepermissions for access to the uploaded attachment at the sharedlocation. For example, some of the recipients may have permissions setthat allow them read/write access, other recipients may only have readaccess. Permissions may also be set to control the forwarding of theattachment/link to the attachment (e.g. prevent an unauthorized userfrom receiving the attachment and/or a link to the attachment).

According to an embodiment, the link to the uploaded content (410) islocated within an attachment area of the message such that the user doesnot have to search for the linked content within the body of theelectronic message.

The attachment area may be located within many different areas of thedisplay. Generally, the attachment area is located such that the displayof the attached area remains visible even though the body of the messageis scrolled to change the view of the message. A graphical indicator,such as an icon, may be displayed within the attachment area near thelink to provide additional information relating to the attachment. Thegraphical indicator may be selected to indicate a type of the contentand/or other characteristics relating to the linked content. Forexample, a document icon may be used to show the content is a document,a web icon may be used for web content, a spreadsheet icon may be usedfor spreadsheets, a picture icon may be used for pictures, a messageicon may be used for messages, an online service icon may be used toshow where the attachment has been uploaded (e.g. a video service iconto indicate that the attachment has been uploaded to video service 1, apicture service icon . . . ) and the like.

FIG. 5 shows a display of an electronic message within a Web browserincluding a link to content. As illustrated, Web browser 502 shows amessage that includes a link 510 to content that has been automaticallyuploaded. In the current example, change option 520 provides the senderwith the one or more menu options that relate to the attachment that wasuploaded due to size limitations (e.g. setting permissions, changingdefault shared locations for one or more message types, removing anattachment from a shared location, and the like).

FIGS. 6 and 7 shows an illustrative process for uploading attachmentsthat exceed a threshold to a shared location and automaticallydownloading attachments in a received message. When reading thediscussion of the routines presented herein, it should be appreciatedthat the logical operations of various embodiments are implemented (1)as a sequence of computer implemented acts or program modules running ona computing system and/or (2) as interconnected machine logic circuitsor circuit modules within the computing system. The implementation is amatter of choice dependent on the performance requirements of thecomputing system implementing the invention. Accordingly, the logicaloperations illustrated and making up the embodiments described hereinare referred to variously as operations, structural devices, acts ormodules. These operations, structural devices, acts and modules may beimplemented in software, in firmware, in special purpose digital logic,and any combination thereof.

FIG. 6 illustrates a process for uploading attachments that exceed athreshold to a shared location.

After a start block, process 600 moves to operation 610, where theelectronic message is accessed. The electronic message may be anyelectronic message that includes the ability to attach content.According to an embodiment, the electronic messages are email messages.Other messages may also be used attachments, such as SMS, MMS, InstantMessages, social network messages, and the like.

Flowing to operation 620, any attachments that are associated with theelectronic message are detected. According to an embodiment, thedetection occurs before the message is sent. A size of the attachment(s)is also determined.

Moving to operation 630, a determination is made as to what attachmentsare to be uploaded based on determining that the size of the attachmentsexceed a predetermined size threshold. According to an embodiment, thepredetermined size threshold is based on a size limitation for deliveryof an electronic message (e.g. 1 MB, 5 MB, 10 MB . . . ). Thepredetermined size threshold may be configured by a user (e.g. systemadministrator). When one or more of the attachments exceed thethreshold, attachment manager 26 is configured to upload one or more ofthe attachments. For example, all/portion of the attachments may beuploaded to the shared location such that when the uploaded attachmentsare removed from the message, the size of the message is below thethreshold. According to an embodiment, if any one attachment isuploaded, each attachment within the message is uploaded.

Transitioning to operation 640, the determined attachments are uploadedto one or more shared locations. The attachments may be uploaded toshared locations based on different criteria. For example, a sharedlocation may be selected based on a type of the attachment (e.g. videoattachments to a shared location that hosts videos, picture attachmentsto a shared location that hosts pictures, documents to a shared locationthat hosts documents, and the like.) A shared location may also beselected based on shared locations that are selected by the senderand/or one or more of the recipients. For example, each recipient mayhave configured preferences indicating a desired shared location. Theattachment may be uploaded to more than one shared location (e.g. theattachment is uploaded to each recipient's configured shared location).

Flowing to operation 650, permissions for accessing the uploadedattachments are set such that each recipient is able to access theuploaded attachment. According to an embodiment, the attachment is setto read/write permission for each recipient of the message. A user maychange these permissions by accessing a change option within theelectronic message and/or by accessing the shared location where theattachment is uploaded.

Moving to operation 660, the attachments within the message are replacedwith links that may be used to access each of the uploaded attachments.

Transitioning to operation 670, the electronic message is sent to therecipients.

The process then flows to an end block and returns to processing otheractions.

FIG. 7 shows a process for automatically downloading content that isassociated with a received message that includes a link to an uploadedattachment.

After a start block, process 700 moves to operation 710, where theelectronic message is received. The electronic message may be anyelectronic message that includes a link to an attachment that wasuploaded to a shared location. According to an embodiment, theelectronic messages are email messages. Other messages may also includelinks, such as SMS, MMS, Instant Messages, social network messages, andthe like. The message may be received by a client based applicationand/or a Web based application.

Flowing to operation 720, any links to uploaded attachments within theelectronic message are detected. A link may be associated with anuploaded attachment using different methods. For example, the linkitself may contain information that indicates the content that the linkaddresses was uploaded due to a size limitation. According to anembodiment, the links are detected before the received message isviewed.

Moving to operation 730, the attachment may be automatically downloaded.According to an embodiment, the content is automatically downloaded anddisplayed within the attachment area of the electronic message beforethe user receiving the message views the message.

Transitioning to operation 740, the links to the content that isautomatically downloaded are replaced with an attachment of the content.

Flowing to operation 750, the electronic message is displayed with theattachment with the electronic message. When a user views the message,the attachment may be opened.

The process then flows to an end block and returns to processing otheractions.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

1. A method for replacing an attachment to an electronic message with alink to the attachment at a shared location, comprising: detecting anattachment to an electronic message that is addressed to a recipient;determining a size of the attachment; determining when the size exceedsa predetermined threshold and when the size exceeds the predeterminedthreshold: uploading the attachment to a shared location; settingpermissions for the attachment at the shared location such that therecipient is able to access the attachment; removing the attachment fromthe electronic message; and inserting a link to the attachment at theshared location; and sending the electronic message.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising automatically downloading the attachmentbefore the electronic message is displayed by the recipient.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising determining the shared locationbased on a type of the attachment.
 4. The method of claim 3, whereindetermining the shared location based on the type of the attachmentcomprises setting the shared location to at least one of: a first sharedlocation when the type of attachment is a picture; a second sharedlocation when the type of attachment is a word processing document; anda third shared location when the type of attachment is a video.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the shared location is selected based on oneor more shared locations received from a user.
 6. The method of claim 1,further comprising displaying a user interface option within theelectronic message that when selected automatically uploads theattachment to the shared location.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined threshold is user configurable.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising displaying a graphical menu within the electronicmessage that comprises an option for sending a link to the attachment inplace of the attachment and an option for managing permissions of theattachment.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein setting the permissionsfor the attachment at the shared location such that the recipient isable to access the attachment comprises determining each recipient ofthe message and setting a default set of permissions for each of therecipients.
 10. A computer-readable storage medium storingcomputer-executable instructions for replacing an attachment to anelectronic message with a link to the attachment at a shared location,comprising: detecting an attachment to an electronic message that isaddressed to a recipient; determining a size of the attachment;determining when the size exceeds a predetermined threshold and when thesize exceeds the predetermined threshold: uploading the attachment to ashared location that is associated with an online service; automaticallysetting permissions for the attachment at the shared location such thatthe recipient is able to access the attachment; removing the attachmentfrom the electronic message; and inserting a link to the attachment atthe shared location; and sending the electronic message.
 11. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, further comprisingautomatically downloading the attachment and removing the link from theelectronic message before the electronic message is displayed by therecipient.
 12. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, furthercomprising determining the shared location based on a type of theattachment.
 13. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 12,wherein determining the shared location based on the type of theattachment comprises setting the shared location to at least one of: afirst shared location when the type of attachment is a picture; a secondshared location when the type of attachment is a word processingdocument; and a third shared location when the type of attachment is avideo.
 14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, furthercomprising displaying a graphical menu within the electronic messagethat comprises an option for sending a link to the attachment in placeof the attachment and an option for managing permissions of theattachment.
 15. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 10,wherein setting the permissions for the attachment at the sharedlocation such that the recipient is able to access the attachmentcomprises determining each recipient of the message and setting adefault set of permissions for each of the recipients.
 16. A system forreplacing an attachment to an electronic message with a link to theattachment at a shared location, comprising: a network connection thatis configured to connect to a network; a processor, memory, and acomputer-readable storage medium; an operating environment stored on thecomputer-readable storage medium and executing on the processor; amessaging application; and an attachment manager operating inconjunction with the messaging application that is configured to performactions comprising: detecting an attachment to an electronic messagethat is addressed to a recipient; determining a size of the attachment;determining when the size exceeds a predetermined threshold and when thesize exceeds the predetermined threshold: uploading the attachment to ashared location that is associated with an online service; automaticallysetting permissions for the attachment at the shared location such thatthe recipient is able to access the attachment; removing the attachmentfrom the electronic message; and inserting a link to the attachment atthe shared location; and sending the electronic message.
 17. The systemof claim 16, further comprising automatically downloading the attachmentand removing the link from the electronic message before the electronicmessage is displayed by the recipient.
 18. The system of claim 16,further comprising determining the shared location based on a type ofthe attachment.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the shared locationis based on determining a type of the attachment that is at least oneof: a first shared location when the type of attachment is a picture; asecond shared location when the type of attachment is a word processingdocument; and a third shared location when the type of attachment is avideo.
 20. The system of claim 16, further comprising displaying agraphical menu within the electronic message that comprises an optionfor sending a link to the attachment in place of the attachment and anoption for managing permissions of the attachment.